Current 40 gallon tank Layout and Lighting question

Below is my current layout for my 40 gallon tank (as I watch a cricket just nonchalantly crawl over the top of my beardies's head as i type this). I am probably going to get another piece of driftwood, but with the 40 gallon tank, the basking area which is a 'rock' with a cave combo that I got with petsmart is still 8-9 inches from the top of the tank.

When I've seen my digital thermometer work semi correctly the temperatures get up to 100-102 though according to the box at that length from the top the max temp is supposed to be about 109 F



I just read the lighting article and my dome fixtures for my lights are the All good things fixtures

Current Bulbs are as follows
150W ExoTerra intense Basking bulb
26W UVB bulb by All Good Things

Current Enclosure is a 40 Gallon Zilla Brand glass aquarium for reptiles with a screen top that slides on and off and has two 'latches' in the back once the lid is full on. I don't have the room or the tools needed to make the cooler DIY ones. This size at her current length of 6-8 inches should last a couple years before i have to upgrade her to a whole new tank and stand because nothing i have is big enough to house a 75 gallon aquarium.

Since I now have a 40 gallon will these bulbs still be OK? I don't dare put the basking bulbs over the driftwood because the one time i had it there for a couple seconds it smelled of burning because of the intense heat (it wasn't really burning but it was the smell)

The layout looks good and your basking temps are fine. How are the temps on the cool side? I would certainly prioritize upgrading your UVB light. A 22'' T5 should fit a 40g breeder pretty well and work through a screen top with no problem. It is also powerful enough so you can migrate it to a larger tank later on when you upgrade. http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ (site is temporarily offline for maintenance)

Or this combo https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26062-Reptisun-Fluorescent/dp/B00AQU8HKO/
https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/88847/SUN-960345.html

from the looks of the only non digital thermometer in the tank as it doubles as a humidity checker, the humidity is tropic at about 50% and the temp looks to be about 70-80 degrees with the lights on. This thermometer is halfway down the middle of the tank and set in the tank just less than halfway of the horizontal halfway point.

Right now she's just looking at me. I think that since i gave her a bigger space(and a place to see out the front really close she's starting to prefer being in the tank (like most parrot type birds do). I'm perfectly fine with that as long as she's healthy. Though when she wants to stay out it's interesting trying to convince her to stepoff onto driftwood or the 'rock'

Yeah the extra space is usually a good thing for them. I'm sure she appreciates it. 70-80 is good ambient temp. and 50% humidity is fine. You may want to get an IR Temp gun or some cheap digital thermometers with probes you can put down to get surface readings too. I find surface temps to be more helpful when adjusting the lighting.

https://www.amazon.com/Nubee-Temperature-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B00CVHIJDK
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017N8W90/

I'm currently using the probe thermometer that i got from my local LFS. Depending on where i have it if the basking light doesn't hit it directly sometimes it gives me a lower temp than it actually is.

I'm surprised how affordable that temperature gun is though. I think i'll actually get one of those.

Thank you for that link. Still haven't upgraded the UVB light yet as i haven't gone to petsmart to see if they have a fixture that I can just mount on the tank for the bulb you recommended need to check into that.

Will not mess with the setup since you said it was good for now. I do need to get in there at some point this evening and do the daily spot clean for her 'gifts'.

The issue with the probes is that they can take a while to get an accurate reading so I set one on the basking surface and one on the cool side surface and just leave them there. I use a temp gun to spot check. There is a second link I posted that has a fixture that will work with that bulb. The first one is a combo that comes with both together but it looks like their site is down for a bit.

I did buy that temperature gun may eventually get another digital thermometer for the cool side but i have the non digital one over there for right now.

Now that the probe is right under the basking light again it reads 116 degrees plus or minus. I think the max this bulb is supposed to get is 119 but she rarely stays directly under it.

As long as you keep an eye on the temps (they can fluctuate throughout the day) and she has plenty of options available that should be OK. Maybe raise the fixture a couple of inches if the temps stay that high just to bring it down a little. She isn't likely to want temps that high but go based on what she seems to prefer.

well you saw the 'rock' has slopes she usually sits on the lower slope towards the front but within enough reach to still get the basking.

I need to check under the repticarpet in a day or so i saw a cricket trying to sneak under there tonight. I'm sure there are others and some meal worms down there too.

Cooperdragon, bought that T22 light that you recommended from the site that had been temporarily down for maintenance until Today.

Have you ever had any problem with the condition they've arrived in? please let me know. I can't wait to get the new UVB light.

Also my beardie is going through her first shed that i've seen i know her body may or may not have done it yet but her tail definitely was shedding skin i could see it noticibly peeling off. Also the crickets i think are snacking on it. Annnnnnnnd one just walked in front of her and found that was a poor life choice.

Have a great day.

one just walked in front of her and found that was a poor life choice.

Click to expand...

:lol:

The bulb and fixture were very well packaged and arrived in good shape. That was 3 years ago and mine is still going strong. If something does arrive and isn't in good condition, report it to them. The owner is very helpful.

The shed will be first of many. For a while it seems like the little ones are almost in constant shed as they grow. This gets less frequent (and more patchy) as they get older. I advise removing leftover crickets after meal time. They have been known to hide and then come out at night and bite dragons while they are sleeping. Several of them together could cause some harm.

The bulb hasn't been replaced in three years? That's long. The crickets were eating the already shed skin to clarify.

Yeah it makes the T5 light an incredible value. I have a Solarmeter that I use to monitor the output and will replace it when that starts to decline but so far so good. The general rule is to replace them yearly though - I can't say all of the bulbs will have this kind of longevity across the board.

I did purchase the T22 that you said i needed for my size tank.

I can't tell if the body has started shedding yet. I don't think so as her legs still have that grey look to them.

Question I know that carrots have to be fed mashed to beardies. Would Carrot Baby food work as that already comes pre smashed or does it have additives in it that are bad for beardies? Right now i can't see if she's actually touched the veg mix i rehydrate or not. I know the crickets like it because they fill their guts with the veg if they're going after it. If the carrots as baby food would work what brand would you think would be safest for beardies.

I think strawberries would be one of the easier ones for me to keep here as i would eat some of them myself so that they didn't go bad. Probably add some legitimate veg to my list for grocery shopping i know at least the strawberries will be bought.

Thoughts?

In terms of baby food, I'd stick with plain veges rather than mixes. Carrot is OK in limited doses but I've had good luck using squash, green beans, and sweet potato baby food in the past. The brand doesn't matter as much as it being pure veg.